This invention relates to an air ionizer, and more particularly to apparatus for introducing oxidizing agents into an air stream; and is particularly suitable for, but not limited to, apparatus for improving the efficiency of internal combustion engines.
It is known in the art that the efficiency of an internal combustion engine (or any other machine or device utilizing air for combustion) can be improved by introducing ozone into the intake air stream being delivered to the engine. Such ozone injection systems are described, for example, in the following references:
European Pat. No. 43,477 PA1 French Pat. No. 734,529 PA1 French Pat. No. 2,476,221 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 1,959,738 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 2,146,265 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 2,960,975 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,476,095 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,195,606 PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,308,844
As described in these references, in an ozone injection system for internal combustion engines, the ozone is usually made by subjecting engine intake air to intense ultraviolet radiation or by passing the air through a tube between coaxial metallic electrodes, with a high voltage applied to produce an electric discharge between the electrodes. However, such arrangements are not capable of producing ozone at a sufficiently high rate with an acceptably low level of restriction of the air flow, and have therefore not been successfully employed in the intake air paths of internal combustion engines in general and automotive or marine engines in particular.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an improved air ionizer suitable for use in increasing the efficiency of an internal combustion engine.